Texas High School (in Texarkana) has opened a new performance space, the Sullivan Performing Arts Center and John Thomas Theatre, which features three Panasonic AG-HPX300 P2 HD camcorders outfitted for studio use, an AV-HS400A HD/SD switcher and two PT-DW10000U 10000 lumen 1080p DLP projectors. In addition to Jazz Band, drama and choir performances, the new theatre will present the multifaceted work of many of the high school’s 220 broadcast journalist students, who shoot their projects on Panasonic AG-HMC150 professional handheld AVCCAM camcorders.

A student at (Texarkana) Texas High School

“The HMC150 delivers most of the controls you’d find on a full-scale ENG camera, including the two XLR audio inputs, which gets us away from consumer-level audio,” said Charles Aldridge, faculty director of the program. “The camcorder is tapeless, lightweight, cost-effective and uses widely available, low-cost SD media.”

The school’s broadcast program, named TigerVision after the school’s mascot, has grown into a highly-supported, award-winning program whose output airs on four channels, including three CableOne (the local cable supplier) channels and one on-campus closed-circuit channel. TigerVision students compete annually on a national level through organizations such as STN-Student Television Network, Channel One News and many others.

Aldridge, his assistant and students typically shoot in the HMC150’s highest-quality PH (average 21 Mbps/max. 24 Mbps) or HA (17Mbps) modes at 1080/60i. TigerVision operates an Apple Lab with 10 MacBook Pros that run Final Cut Studio 3.